In this episode, we examine the Fates - three shadowy figures who seem to have a near omnipresent influence in the goings-on throughout the Greek mythical universe - and who show up in stories and religions from cultures whose time and place are far removed from the ancient Greeks.
Not quite deities and definitely not human, cats have stalked our cultural imagination since ancient times. As demons, defenders, evil sidekicks, and sleek companions, they play many roles in culture and myth. But what makes cats so enduring, and what does our feline fascination tell us about human nature?
For the Ancient Egyptians, the cycle of life itself began and ended with Isis and Osiris. Their story is one of the oldest known myths, and it informed spiritual beliefs, power structures, and gender roles in Ancient Egypt and beyond. And who wouldn’t be drawn to a tale that has it all?
The stars have guided and entertained us for thousands of years. Here we explore some of the messages people have seen in the stars through the millennia and look forward to how we might relate to the stars in the future.
As beings that mediate between heaven and earth, angels have been the focus of both fascination and fear for centuries. For many of us today, the enduring image of an angel is a winged, benevolent baby or adult sporting a halo. But in the past, they’ve been described as fireballs, forms without substance, or massive beings that collect blood or trumpet the end of time. Where did these archetypes come from and why has that of the winged cherub endured?
In Greek mythology, the magnificent mother and daughter duo Demeter and Persephone were the bringers of food and fair weather and were worshiped in lush harvest celebrations. But their story has a darker side – one involving violence, tragic compromise, and a bittersweet resurrection.
Energy from the sun gives heat, offers a bright reprieve from the darkness of night, and serves as the base for our entire food chain. It is no wonder it plays a central role in nearly all world mythologies.
Creation, transformation, and the quest for self-knowledge – these are universal themes that appear across world mythology. But there’s another common thread within these tales: gender fluidity. It’s not only commonplace in many mythologies, but an essential aspect of some important mythical figures: from androgynous creators and fertility deities to warriors and prophets that defy the gender binary.
If you’ve attended a sleepover party in the last 50 years, chances are high that you’ve encountered a prank call - maybe you’ve even made one yourself. But for thousands of years before the invention of the telephone, pranks fell under the purview of a force even more powerful than rowdy teens. It was left to the Trickster Gods.
If the word “Nahua” sounds unfamiliar to you, it’s probably because you’re more used to hearing them referred to as the Aztec. The history is complicated, but the name Aztec was popularized by a German explorer in the 1800s to describe the powerful Mesoamerican empire. Nahua culture is richly complex, with stories that reflect and explain the sometimes confusing duality of nature. Beyond mythology, the Nahua had an interesting political structure, impressive agricultural system, and TWO CALENDARS! Yet most people these days don’t even know them by their real name.
Majestic, mysterious forms that hold the secrets of the universe? Or big, inscrutable rocks that take a lot of effort to climb? In pretty much every culture, it’s all about majesty and mystery when it comes to mountains. Home to mighty deities, sacred grounds, and sublime phenomena, mountains loom large in our collective imagination.
The Buddhist and Hindu Tantric goddess Chinnamasta is an audacious incarnation of divine feminine energy. She teaches us about giving and receiving, self-preservation and sacrifice, reproduction and death.
Vikings were some of the fiercest fighters in human history, using their impressive battle prowess to spread Norse influence between the 8th and 11th centuries. Their bravery as warriors was driven by one ultimate desire: to join Odin in Valhalla. Only the most worthy Vikings would get to spend their afterlives in that hallowed hall, and the choice of who made the cut fell to a group of powerful, but mysterious women: the Valkyries.
Imagine being the mother to every single living thing. What would you do if one of your children threatened the safety of the others? Would you kill or imprison your progeny to save the world? Gaia would know. As Greek mythology’s original Mother Earth, with the unique ability to create life from nothing, it was often Gaia’s burden to save the world from the cruelty of her immortal children.
In recent years we have seen a very welcome uptick in the number of fantasy books inspired by West African folklore. The Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism movements have paved the way for Black authors across the diaspora to build worlds and tell stories influenced by their heritage, allowing wider audiences to finally meet the spirits of Yoruba lore. But who are these deities, and where do they come from?
In many mythologies, music is associated with explosions of life and bursts of creativity. But it’s also used to explore the dark side of human nature: the desire to manipulate our surroundings, or to control others. In tales of music nudging nature into bloom, exploiting human emotion, or communicating with divine entities, we see characters trying to direct the world’s most enigmatic forces.
The Greek Titan Prometheus molded humans from mud and gave us fire to cook and advance our civilization - a good deed that famously didn’t go unpunished!
Queen of the Dead is a pretty cool title though. Hades used an invisibility *helmet, not a shield.
Most of us think of unicorns as happy, magical horses, but this class of one-horned creatures has a darker, more multifaceted history than you might expect.
In Irish folklore, Cú Chulainn was one of the greatest warriors ever to live. From his first battle against a vicious hound at the age of 6 to his last against an entire army just two decades later, Cú Chulainn lived a legendary, but short life. Some might call him a tragic hero, but is it tragic to get everything you ever wanted?
Cultures around the world have venerated trees for thousands of years, often seeing them as gifts from or manifestations of Gods. With their impressive size, longevity, and ability to support life, it’s hard not to see trees as divine. But unlike the gods they sometimes represent, trees rely on us almost as much as we rely on them.
The Epic Norse War That Ended With Spit In Norse mythology, there are two types of gods: the war-loving Aesir and magic-wielding Vanir. Long ago, they fought an epic war over who should be worshiped more by humans, but neither side could win. They reached a truce and united into a single pantheon, which is very rare in folklore. This might indicate a meeting of cultures in Norway from more than 3000 years ago!
The Mesopotamian myth of Gilgamesh is less of a hero’s journey, and more of an existential crisis.| After making a bad reputation for himself, losing his one true love, and botching an epic quest, Gilgamesh is forced to admit that being a hero isn’t everything it's cracked up to be.
Knights of the Round Table were expected to adhere to a strict moral standard of piety, honor, bravery, and courtesy called chivalry. But considering that they often spent their days killing and rampaging at the behest of their lord, that must've required some next-level compartmentalization.
Ancient Greeks portrayed Amazons as very real bloodthirsty, man-hating warrior women in their art for centuries, and then they faded into myth. Modern archaeological evidence suggests that the myths were inspired by fighting women from nomadic tribes in the Eurasian Steppes, revealing the ways that Greek writers exaggerated reality.
Maybe you’ve heard of Pele? She’s a major figure in Hawaiian mythology and pop culture, allegedly the inspiration for Te Fiti in Disney’s Moana. But most people don’t know that Pele was briefly entangled with a shapeshifting demigod named Kamapua’a.
Join us as we reveal the true purpose of this ancient text and learn more about the ancient Egyptian people - and their relationship with death and the afterlife.
What happens when angels and demons battle in heaven? Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all have a story of cosmic conflict—some depict all-out war, while others are more courtroom drama. Their differences give us insight on each faith's beliefs about the afterlife, good and evil, and humans' moral responsibilities. But their similarities point to an ancient ancestor all three religions share.
Several mythologies from around the world imagined that the world sits on the back of a turtle. Centuries later, we end up with the whimsically iconic phrase “it's turtles all the way down.” Let's explore the origins of the phrase, some of these turtle mythologies . . . and talk about my new tattoo!
Utopias are the everything bagel seasoning of myth devices because they are born out of something everyone everywhere can relate to: the desire for a better existence, even one currently out of our mortal reach.
